Hawaii Legislature To Consider Bills To Increase Health Coverage

The Hawaii House Health and Labor committees are considering a bill (HB 296) that would create a state agency to provide health insurance for Hawaii residents whose employers do not offer them such coverage, the AP/Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports. The bill would establish the Hawaii Health Alliance to provide, either through contracts with health plans or directly, basic health coverage for employees not covered by the state's Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974, which requires an employer to provide coverage to an employee who works 20 hours or more per week for four consecutive weeks. The law specifies that an employee's share of the premiums should not exceed 1.5% of his or her salary. The bill would provide coverage for part-time employees who are ineligible for Medicaid, with premiums based on an individual's ability to pay, and would make group policies available to small businesses and the self-employed, the AP/Star-Bulletin reports. House Labor Committee Chair Marcus Oshiro (D), the bill's sponsor, said that the Hawaii Health Alliance would provide health coverage to 58,000 of the state's 120,000 uninsured residents, according to the AP/Star-Bulletin. In addition, House Health Committee Chair Dennis Arakaki (D) has introduced a bill that would establish a new state agency to determine the feasibility of a state universal health care system (Reyes, AP/ Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2/3).